Melissa Joan Hart to play ‘Black Widow’ killer Judy Buenoano in Lifetime movie
Sabrina the Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart will play serial killer Judy Buenoano in Lifetime’s Black Widow Killer, which premieres January 23, 2027 as part of the network’s Ripped from the Headlines slate.
TL;DR
- Hart stars in and executive produces Black Widow Killer: The Judy Buenoano Story, a working title.
- The film premieres at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2027, on Lifetime.
- Chris Bauer and Matthew Settle co-star as a detective and Buenoano’s fiancé.
- No UK broadcaster has been announced, and Lifetime’s UK channel closed in 2021.
Why Hart’s casting as the Black Widow stands out
Hart, best known for Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Melissa & Joey, returns to Lifetime for the role, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The part is a sharp turn for an actor who built her career on family-friendly comedy.
It is not her first dark turn for the network. Hart previously played an overbearing mother who becomes menacing in the Lifetime movie Killing the Competition, according to KGET. She said then that stretching into new kinds of characters through true crime felt exciting.
What we know about the production
Lifetime announced the film on Oct. 27, according to a press release published by The Futon Critic. Hart’s mother, Paula Hart, also executive produces through Hartbreak Films, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Director Agam Darshi helms the film from a script by screenwriter Taylor Martin. Tiny Riot and Fox Entertainment Studios also produce, according to the release. Find more movie announcements in our TV coverage.
Black Widow Killer cast and plot
Actor Chris Bauer, known for True Blood and The Wire, plays Detective Chamberlain. Actor Matthew Settle, known for Gossip Girl and Band of Brothers, plays John Gentry, Buenoano’s fiancé.
Cronin Cullen, known for The Equalizer, plays Chamberlain’s partner, Detective Steele. According to the synopsis, the pair investigate an attempted murder and uncover a pattern of deaths among those closest to Judy.
The true story of Judy Buenoano
The film is set in the 1970s and 1980s and opens after Gentry survives a car bombing. Police began investigating Buenoano after that attack, according to Investigation Discovery.
A jury convicted Buenoano in 1985 of murdering her first husband, Air Force Sgt. James Goodyear, according to Oxygen. She was also convicted of drowning her 19-year-old son, Michael, in a North Florida river, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida executed Buenoano in the electric chair on March 30, 1998, according to CBS News. She was the first woman the state had executed since 1848. Hart’s role also feeds a steady appetite for true crime in our celebrity news and TV coverage.
Key facts at a glance
| Jan. 23, 2027 | March 30, 1998 | 1848 |
|---|---|---|
| Premiere date on Lifetime | Buenoano’s execution | Last time Florida executed a woman before Buenoano |
| Source: Lifetime press release via The Futon Critic | Source: CBS News | Source: CBS News |
How UK viewers can watch Black Widow Killer
Lifetime premieres the film at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2027. That converts to 1 a.m. GMT on Sunday, Jan. 24, for UK viewers.
No UK broadcaster or streamer has been announced. BroadwayWorld reported that the film is distributed internationally by Fox. Lifetime’s UK channel closed on March 1, 2021, according to RXTV Info.
British fans have long known Hart. Sabrina the Teenage Witch arrived in the UK on ITV in 1996, according to the Royal Television Society. All seven seasons were added to Prime Video in the UK in 2021, according to PinkNews.
What to watch for next
The press release labels the title as a working one, so the name may change before the January premiere. We will update this story when Lifetime shares a trailer or any international release details. For more on upcoming TV films, browse our film section.
Reported from publicly available interviews and verified press sources. Last reviewed October 28, 2026.
Lewis Calvert Founder & Editor, BriefLedger
Lewis founded BriefLedger and has six years of experience covering film, TV, and entertainment news. He leads the site’s Movies and TV sections and runs the news desk — always with a straight-talking British take.
